DRAFT BMF PLUS 5

25 May 2006

Forward looking Strategies for the Second Half of the Decade (2008 - 2012)
The original text is from WorldEnable: http://www.worldenable.net/bmf2006/bmfplus5draft.htm

PREAMBLE

We, the members and associate members of ESCAP represented at the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on a Mid-Point Review of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (BMF), held in Bangkok," in October.... 2007.

Recalling the successful High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Conclude the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled persons, 1993-2002, held at Otsu City, Shiga, Japan, 25-28 October 2002, hosted by the Government of Japan, the Shiga Prefecture Government and the City of Ohtsu, and its adoption of the BMF.

Recalling the ESCAP resolution 58/4 of 22 May 2002 on promoting an inclusive barrier-free and rights-based society for people with disabilities in the Asian and Pacific region in the twenty-first century, by which it proclaimed the extension of the Asia and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons 1993-2002, for another decade, 2003-2012.

Recalling the ESCAP resolution 59/3 of 4 September 2003 on the regional implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific during the Decade (2003-2012), by which it requested all members and associate members to support the implementation of the BMF at the national level and through international cooperation and partnership.

Noting that a mid point review of the BMF should be conducted in 2007, on the basis of which the targets and strategic plans for the second half of the Decade may be modified and new targets and strategic plans may be formulated (paragraph 63 of the BMF).

Appreciating that ESCAP members and associate members adopted resolution 61/8 of 18 May 2005 on mid-point review of the implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific, by which it called ESCAP members and associate members to renew their commitment to the implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework in advance of the Intergovernmental mid-point review in 2007.

Noting with appreciation the successful organization of the first ESCAP biennial meeting to review the achievements, namely, "The ESCAP Regional Workshop on Monitoring the Implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework", held in Bangkok in October 2004 and its outcome documents.

Noting also the periodical evaluation reports on national and regional implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework, prepared by the ESCAP Secretariat for various intergovernmental meetings (e.g. ESCAP annual commission sessions, a series of committees on social development, and the committee on vulnerable groups in September 2004), from the inception of the new Decade, and recognizing the action that may be re-vitalized for the second half of the Decade.

Noting with great appreciation three background documents prepared by the ESCAP Secretariat for this Meeting, on monitoring of (a) national implementation of the BMF at the mid point review, and (b) regional implementation of the BMF at the mid point review, as well as (c) a set of indicators for monitoring the implementation of the BMF for the period of 2007-2015.

Having considered the significant progress made (or conclusion, or any status by October 2007) concerning the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protecting and Promoting the Rights and Dignity of" Persons with Disabilities and the subsequent process towards signature and accession/ ratification of the Convention by the member states.

Reaffirming the significance of paradigm shift from charity to rights-based" stipulated in the BMF, and the importance of the concept of human rights, including rights-based development in all legal framework, strategies, policies and plans of action for persons with disabilities at all levels.

Reaffirming the guidelines set out in the BMF for achieving the goals of the Decade with 7 priority areas for action (self-help organizations of persons with disabilities and related family and parent associations, women with disabilities, early detection, early intervention and education, training and employment, including self-employment, access to built environments and public transport, access to information and communications, including information, communication and assistive technologies, poverty alleviation through capacity-building, social security and sustainable livelihood programmes)," its targets, and 4 strategies (national plan of action on disability, promotion of a rights-based approach to disability issues, disability statistics/common definition of disabilities for planning, strengthened community-based approaches to the prevention of causes of disability, rehabilitation and empowerment of persons with disabilities) to achieve the targets of the BMF.

Recalling the principles of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, the United Nations Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, the ILO Convention 159 on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons), the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education, and the Dakar Framework for Action, Education for All.

Considering the United Nations Millennium Declaration, adopted in September 2000, whose goals include eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achievement of universal primary education, and development of a global partnership for development, and the 2005 World Summit Outcome, adopted in September 2005, which recognizes the needs to guarantee the full enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities without discrimination.

Noting the recognitions by the World Bank and other international development banks that unless persons with disabilities are brought into the development mainstream it will be difficult to halve poverty by 2015, or give every girl and boy the chance to complete primary education to the same date, and" their commitment to inclusion of disability concerns in their poverty eradication efforts as well as the disability-inclusive development approach," so-called "twin track approach" of disability mainstreaming and empowerment of PWD, which was" promoted and officially adopted by some bilateral development agencies such as DFID and Jica.

INTRODUCTION

The new Decade (2003-2012) must ensure a paradigm shift from a charity-based approach to a rights-based approach to protect the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights of persons with disabilities. The Philippines has declared the period 2003-2012 the national Decade of Persons with Disabilities. Japan has adopted the third long-term "Fundamental Framework for Action during the New Decade of 2003-2012" with the mandate of achieving an inclusive society.

At the national level, the current Decade brought more progress in rights-based disability policy and legislation than earlier Decades in the Asia and Pacific region.

Throughout the first five years of the Decade, significant progress has been made. Also, prior to the inception of the current Decade, a few countries in the region already adopted a well-functioning national anti-discrimination legislation to eliminate all kinds of discriminations and prejudices against people with diverse disabilities, and to mainstream disabled citizens." For instance, Australia, the Philippines and Hong Kong-China had already institutionalized an effective anti-discrimination legislation to protect the rights of PWD and its monitoring mechanism, such as an equal opportunity commission (or a national human rights commission), for enforcement of the law." Also, Japan has adopted a more rights-based amendment of the fundamental law for disabled persons[1]. At the provincial level, the Chiba prefecture of Japan has recently adopted an anti-discrimination regulation to protect and promote the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities." China has been always very proactive in the global process of drafting the International Convention.

Concerning national policy, Vanuatu adopted a national disability policy in 2004 and established a focal point on disability issues under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2003, Cook Islands passed a comprehensive rights-based national policy on disability and action plan. In 2005, Solomon Islands also adopted a national policy on disability, with reference to the Biwako Millennium Framework. In 2005, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste initiated the process of drafting a national policy on disability based on the Framework and in consultation with disabled peoples' organizations and various stakeholders.

Therefore, since the adoption of the BMF, it has played a significant role region-wide in the elaboration of new more rights-based national legislation and policies as well as local/provincial rules and regulations for persons with disabilities. This active and practical application of the BMF goals and strategies has provided new and valuable experiences on how to utilize the BMF effectively in the next 5 years. Concurrently, it has revealed certain weakness, shortcomings, outdated-ness, and omissions in the existing text at the mid point (2007)." For instance, the significant progress made by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Convention and the anticipation for signing, and accession/ratification by a number of ESCAP members and associate members is a completely new development, which further confirms the rightness of rights-based approach and the concept of human rights and none-discrimination stipulated in the BMF. The concept of the BMF, "inclusive[2]", "barrier-free[3]", and "rights-based[4]" society is re-affirmed at the mid-point and these three compositions of the BMF principle are indivisible and inter-related; however, the primary focus of action during the second half of the Decade may be the "rights-based".

To pursue the targets and strategies of the BMF and its rights-based approach, the involvement of civil society, including self-help organizations and the NGOs concerned, was proved to be essential and critical. Indeed, the promotion of rights-based approach was initiated and promoted through the strengthened regional network and cooperation among Governments and civil society (e.g DPOs, NGOs, INGOs, academic institutions, human rights organizations, etc.) to share common concerns and challenges and to provide mutual collaboration." For instance, the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disabilities (APCD) was established in 2004 at Bangkok to promote an inclusive and rights-based society and to implement the BMF. The Center has been playing a vital supporting role, through serving persons with disabilities and professionals working with them in capacity building, information sharing and networking at the regional level.

Also the Asia Pacific Disability Forum (APDF) was formed in November 2003 as the first and the only NGO regional mechanism to promote the implementation of the BMF and the new Convention on Promoting and Protecting the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. The Forum has been working closely with UN ESCAP, APCD and other United Nations agencies.

Throughout the entire BMF text, a comprehensive model of "disability" is used implicitly to refer to persons with disabilities, while recognizing the recent global developments in defining "disability" and the significant role of the attitudes of society and people towards disabled persons (e.g. social model of disability). Disability is not merely an individual attribute (e.g. medial model of disability) but a complex combination of environmental factors, personal factors and inter-relationships[5]. In this regard, the wider use of WHO-ICF in countries of the region may be useful not only for collecting disability statistics, but also for development of the a common regional" approach to the fundamental concept of disability and disabled persons.

The purpose of preparing the proposed supplement (BMF PLUS 5) to the BMF is to complement and develop the existing BMF text in certain areas of new developments. The work is based on analysis of achievements, shortcomings, challenges and gaps presented by the members and associate members as well as civil society groups."

In the analysis, the following areas were pointed out and used for categorizing purpose: (i) general principles and concepts of disability, (ii) rights-based legislation and policies (including towards ratification of the Convention), (iii) the needs of persons with special groups (e.g. disabled children, older persons with disabilities, persons with developmental and psychiatric disabilities), (iv) disability-inclusive development approach, (v) enhancing access to health care, education, training and employment, (vi) facilitating access to the build environments, community living, transport and information, (vii) self-help groups and Disabled People's Organizations and (viii) regional, sub-regional and national networking as a modality for exchange of information and collaboration.

The structure and draft text of this supplementary (BMF plus 5) does not follow the structure of the BMF text and the 7 priority areas. The sequence of the categories has been formulated in order to avoid unnecessary duplications and repetitions of the BMF text." The goals, targets and strategies already adopted by the BMF and endorsed by the members and associate members at the Intergovernmental Meeting in 2002 will be still valid for the entire period of the Decade, thus it is not needed to repeat the same phrases again.

This supplementary document therefore focuses on the concrete strategies for the members, associate members and civil society groups for priority action during the specific period of 5 years, 2007-2013, and it shall serve as an action-oriented "to-do-list" for governments and other entities (academic institutions, NGOs, DPOs, self-help groups and private sector) responsible for improving the life of PWDs in the region. The mode of presentation combines a short commentary with a set of concrete recommendations for action.

In the process of elaborating this supplement, several international organizations and individual experts have contributed, including those representing the interest of special groups through a series of the stakeholders' consultation meetings. The group of experts and persons with various disabilities has worked with the draft text and made many valuable suggestions during 2006-2007, and finally the outcome of the expert group meeting (represented by government experts held in 2007, prior to the mid review), organized by UN ESCAP, .....October ... 2007, has taken into account, before it was finally adopted by the Intergovernmental Meeting.

The most important common feature of the comments and recommendations in this document is (i) the importance of the Convention process (smooth signing, and accession/ratification) and its timely reflection into the framework of national (domestic) legislative (e.g. anti-discrimination law, rights based regulations) and policy, (ii) the vital need to mainstream disability issues into national, regional and international development efforts, and (iii) the needs of emerging groups of disabled persons who require special attention.

1. Principles, approaches and definitions

The BMF encourages governments to actively implement the paradigm shift from a charity-based approach to a rights-based approach to the empowerment of persons with disabilities, and to move towards the human rights perspective, being in mind the current process towards (or conclusion of .... The latest progress by 2007) the International Convention on Promoting and Protecting the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. Thus, the principles of the remaining 5-year strategies may include among others, the rights-based, non-discrimination, participation and inclusion, respect for differences and diversity, equal opportunities and accessibility.

Discrimination on the basis of disability means any distinction, exclusion or restriction on the basis of disability which has the purpose or effect of impairing the exercise or enjoyment, on an equal basis with others, of all human rights and fundamental freedom in the civil-political, socio-economic-cultural or any other fields. Discrimination includes all forms of direct and indirect discrimination, including denial of "reasonable accommodation"[6].

Meantime, the global disability movements and the "social model of disability" advocated by them helped our society to understand what needs to take place in order to ensure disabled persons' equal access to human and civil rights. Nowadays, most people [7] probably refer to the social model of disability in a rather comprehensive manner, such as "rights model of disability"."

Our common regional approach to disability may include a very positive statement and vision about disabled persons, recognition of diversity and differences among disability/disabled persons, recognition of the need to eliminate institutional discrimination and social barriers (social attitudes and physical barriers), allowing of the individual choice, and recognizing that not all the things that exclude PWD are solely about society's attitudes and fault[8]." What is required in the region at the mid review point may be a "rights model of disability" with a striking balance between empowerment and leadership of PWD, and the efforts for removing the existing barriers. In this regard, the definitions and principles of disability in the WHO-ICF may serve as a useful reference and guidance[9].

Taking into consideration of the above principles, the following recommendations set out below are practicable only when an integrated strategy is adopted, as they are all inter-linked and interdependent. The principle aim of the 5-year strategies is to suggest different sort and forms of action whereby the institutional discrimination and barriers to access to rights encountered by PWD can be eliminated universally.

2. Rights-based disability policy and legislation
(including the convention follow-up)

Commentary text

Legislation is often a first step towards eliminating the institutional discrimination and prejudice against PWD. Parallel to the process towards the International Convention, several countries in the region already institutionalized a well-functioning anti-discrimination legislation and its effective monitoring mechanism (e.g. a national equal opportunity commission) for enforcement of the law. In some other countries where a national anti-discrimination law does not exist yet, a provincial regulation to ban all kinds of discrimination against PWDs and uphold the principle of equality was enacted at the local level. A few of these developments were made during the first 5 years of the current Decade. Promoting legislation that bans all kinds of discrimination, including the environmental sphere and in the field of service provision and employment can be seen to be most essential to implement the Convention (to translate the State's global commitment into national strategy) at the national level, and to eliminate the barriers preventing the full participation of PWDs.

Recommendations

• Smooth signing and accession/ratification of the Convention on Promoting and Protecting the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, with as little reservations as possible.
• A national framework to monitor, promote and enforce compliance with the Convention, ensuring a strong consumer-influenced monitoring mechanism on the rights of persons with disabilities.
• Enacting of a national "anti-discrimination legislation" to protect the rights of PWDS, supplemented by local (provincial) regulations banning all forms of discrimination against disabled persons.
• Establishment of a statutory monitoring mechanism (body), which is public-funded and independent, for enforcement of the anti-discrimination legislation (e.g. an equal opportunity commission, national human rights institution, etc).
• Awareness-raising campaigns (pro-active action) aimed at eliminating all forms of discrimination and prejudice against PWD and encouraging the universal design products and technologies.
• Making the official complaint procedures as simple and easily accessible as possible. The measures may include the elimination of heavy financial burden jeopardizing equal access to the courts by the discriminated (e.g. setting up a special lawyer-free tribunal/small court on disability discrimination, or the State's subsidizing the fee for low-income disabled persons)."
• Active involvement of PWD and their organizations in the drafting, review, revision, monitoring and implementation of disability-related legislation.

3. Groups in special needs (developmental and psychiatric disabilities, invisible disabilities, children, the elderly, women with disabilities, etc.)

Women with disabilities are often exposed to multiple discriminations, based on disability, gender and poverty. The term "persons with disabilities" in the BMF text should read therefore as girls, boys, women and men with disabilities". Children with disabilities are often neglected by the regular school system, and obstacles of physical environment prevent them to move freely in the community, from interacting with the company of other children." Some studies have shown that experiences of sexual abuse and other forms of violence and abuse are frequently reported among children and women with disabilities. The emerging population with disabilities is older people. There are two categories, those who experience their disabilities at early stage, with dynamic needs with advancing age, and other category who lost physical, sensory and mental functions due to ageing. With the increase in life expectancy in many countries of the region, the latter category is growing in number. The needs of the elderly with disabilities are often not included in national disability policy and programmes. Another important group is those who have disabilities that are not easily detected by others, so called invisible disability. Among this group, persons with psychiatric disabilities, those with disabilities from chronic diseases, and those who are hard of hearing or deaf. One of the shortcomings of the BMF text is that the needs of persons with developmental, psychiatric and invisible disabilities are not covered in sufficient manner.

Commentary text

Recommendations

(Women with disabilities)

• Further strengthening the effort by DPOs to include the concerns of women and girls with disabilities into their agenda and assisting them in pushing forward the inclusion of their concerns into agenda of mainstream women's movement.

(Children with disabilities)

• Initiation of the programmes for early detection and intervention and ensuring that children with disabilities, including those with extensive and multiple disabilities, have access to medical care and rehabilitation services.
• Ensuring that training and rehabilitation programmes should not disrupt the disabled child's right to family life and social integration with their non-disabled peers.
• The governments' responsibility for recognizing and eradicating abuse and violence against girls, boys, women and men with disabilities, understanding the possibility of occurring in the family.
• Provision of information to persons with the families of disabled children about methods to take precautions against sexual abuse and press charges, if this happens.

(Older persons with disabilities)

• Ensuring that the needs of older persons with disabilities in the provision of health and medical care services, rehabilitation, assistive devices and other forms of support services.
• Inclusion of the situation of older persons with disabilities in research.

(People with invisible disabilities)

• Inclusion of the characteristics of invisible disabilities in taking measures towards the fullest participation and providing equal opportunities for persons with disabilities.
• Inclusion of information about persons with invisible disabilities and their special problems in public awareness programme.

(Persons with psychiatric and developmental disabilities)

• Ensuring inclusion of the special needs of persons with developmental and psychiatric disabilities in health and medical care, and in rehabilitation and support services, with emphasis of self-determination.
• The government's support to the development of self-help groups and organizations, representing the interest and the voice of persons with psychiatric and developmental disabilities, independently from the existing parents' organizations.

4. Disability-inclusive development approach

Commentary text

TBD

Recommendations

• Adoption of holistic and comprehensive approaches to national development policies and programmes that are inclusive and disability responsive.
• Mainstreaming disability into overall national development plans, programmes and projects for poverty alleviation and promote multi sectoral coordination of institutions at all levels.
• Allocation on predictable and sustainable basis the budget and other resources (disability budgeting) for pro-poor policies and programmes particularly for poverty alleviation among persons with disabilities.
• Critical role of partnerships among the public and private sectors and civil society in effective and sustainable poverty alleviation for persons with disabilities.
• Capacity-building of persons with disabilities and their organizations for self-help and mutual support and poverty alleviation.
• Disability sensitizing of society especially financial institutions, law and policy makers, employers, media and major stakeholders.
• Community approaches including Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) based on the holistic model [10]as an important component of a key and effective poverty alleviation strategy.
• Government and donors being responsive to and ensure that disability is included in poverty alleviation strategies for example - Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs") and so called "Twin Track approach" of empowerment of PWD and disability mainstreaming..
• The vital importance of timely international cooperation in relief, rehabilitation and re-development, which should provide accessibility with reasonable accommodation for all, both in continued efforts to address the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 2004 and in response to the tragic earthquake of October 2005 affecting and India and Pakistan that resulted increase in the number of persons with disabilities in the region.
• Disability mainstreaming (disability segregated data) into the existing national statistics on assessing the socio-economic characteristics (e.g. school enrollment, employment, health condition, etc.) of the population.

5. Enhancing access to health care, education, training and employment

Commentary text

TBD

Recommendations

(Health care)

• Disability prevention and health promotion as an integral part of all public health promotion measures and policies (school, workplace, health services, etc.).
• Elimination of all forms of segregation of discrimination against people with disabilities (including those suffering from psychiatric illness), enabling them to benefit on equal terms from health and medical services, and high-quality rehabilitation to lead a dignified existence, bearing in mind the individual choice and self-determination.
• Ensuring the living conditions in health care facilities meeting respect for individual rights and fundamental freedom, including in matters of "informed consent" to treatment, particularly in psychiatric institutions.

(Education)

• Re-affirmation of the principle of inclusive education: Elimination of all forms of segregation and discrimination against PWD, with full access to primary, secondary and higher education on equal terms, to guarantee full access to mainstreaming education system, while taking account of the specific learning needs of children and adults with disabilities.
• Educational systems capable of accommodating diversity of educational needs of children and adults with disabilities, and enabling access to mainstream education and life long learning facilities in the child's or adult's best interest.
• Integration of disabled children in mainstream education from very early age (kindergarten, etc).
• Establishing a legal framework (law) and resources allocation to guaranteeing equality of access to pre-school, school education and life long learning.
• Including disability as a compulsory subject in initial or in-service (refresh) courses for teaching staff in pre-school, school and university education.
• Development of resource centers with adequate human and other resources to provide regular teachers with support for inclusive education.
• Development and improvement of reception strategies for students with disabilities, to foster more open attitudes among university and higher education staff.
• Promotion of bridges between regular school and special education, allowing the preferences of the child as far as possible.
• Promotion of health education, prevention and awareness of the causes of disability.

(Employment and training)

• Re-affirmation of ILO Convention 159
• Enhancing the "public - private partnership" in terms of skills development and hiring disabled people with innovative approaches" (e.g. corporate responsibilities, social farms, social enterprises, dialogue with multinational corporations, etc.)
• Implementing integration policies by sufficient financial resources and awareness-raising campaigns, targeting employers and employees, regarding the provision of "reasonable accommodation" and the management of disability in the workplace.
• Promotion of employment of PWD in an open employment market through implementation of a more dynamic, affirmative policy.
• Improving in the numbers and capacity of trainers and educators in mainstream skills and vocational training to accommodate the needs of PWD.
• Ensuring an improvement and modernizing in the level of skills and training of women and men with disabilities.
• Strengthening action towards people with more extensive (severe) disabilities
• Collection and documentation of case studies and good practices where government is positively mainstreaming disabled people in the workforce.
• Self-employment and informal sector employment of persons with disabilities.

6. Facilitating access to the build environments, community living, transport and information

Commentary text

TBD

Recommendations

• Inclusion in legislation of the measure to enable persons with disabilities to live in the environment of their own choice, which includes building and fitting out of their own private houses at reasonable costs.
• Strengthening the accessibility in the urban and the built environments, housing and transport, mass market products, based on the concept of the "universal design".
• Application of more integrated and comprehensive technology standards to the built environment, public services, communication systems and housing, with the concept of universal design, for the purpose of promoting an independent living of persons with disabilities in their own communities.
• Asserting in laws and regulations (rights of access to buildings, transport, education, etc.) the principle of autonomy and self-determination, in which persons with disabilities are entitled to lead independent living and take decisions for themselves.
• Use of legislative, financial and technological solutions to remove the existing obstacles and eliminate the negative features generating the existing discrimination and inequality, in infrastructure design, dwellings, transport, public spaces, technology and information and communication systems.
• Focus on physical accessibility design standards for various categories of PWDs in rural areas and impoverished urban communities in terms of physical infrastructure, transportation and basic water and sanitation infrastructure.
• Introducing a set of universal design and/or accessibility guidelines in bidding process of international cooperation projects, and ODA agencies' adopting an official set of guidelines (a policy) on accessibility standard.
• Application of accessibility standards and guidelines as a pre-condition for public funding and using public procurement as a tool to promote accessibility.
• Promotion of accessible tourism by the Government, and local governments.
• Supporting and fostering the development of legislation, measures, guidelines, etc. taking into account the accessibility of digital information technologies.
• Formation and functioning of consultation bodies set up to design and develop measures (legislation, action programmes, standards at national, provincial and local levels).
• Further development of affordable and updated ICT equipment and facilities for persons with disabilities, in order to ensure equality in information access and narrow the existing ICT divide.
• Promotion of use of the new digital technologies for developing of distance learning (e-learning) of formal and informal education.
• Recognition (by the Government) of sign language as a national language and as the medium of communication among deaf individuals, for use in the education of deaf children and in the community.
• Due consideration of the needs of people with various communication disabilities, such as the speech-impaired, the hard-of-hearing, the deaf-blind and persons with developmental disabilities.

7. Self-help groups and Disabled People's Organizations

Commentary text

TBD

Recommendations

• Inclusion of most vulnerable groups such as women with disabilities, persons with intellectual disabilities, persons with psychiatric disabilities, and those with extensive and/or multiple disabilities,"in all endeavors, including decision-making, planning, implementation and evaluation of activities.
• Particularly in rural communities special attention to the dynamics of disability and poverty, with a view to improving the quality of life of persons with disabilities and their families through promoting income-generation schemes and their access to credits.
• The formation of grassroots self-managed groups of persons with disabilities and their village and district-level federations, with extensive social mobilization as a component of key poverty alleviation strategy and social inclusion of persons with disabilities.
• Community-based approaches, including CBR and/or Independent Living which involves self-help groups of persons with disabilities as the key stakeholder.

8. Regional, sub-regional and national networking to implement the 5-year strategies

TBD

• APDF (regional forum)

Consolidating APDF's networking activities to further promote the BMF and the Convention through establishing and expanding its sub-regional and umbrella national forums of PWDs and NGOs in the region (good practices of Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) and Japan Disability Forum)

• Setting up of a national forum of PWDs and NGOS (good practice of JDF in Japan, the National Forum in Bangladesh)
• Creation of regional training networks in the field of action oriented, participatory research on disability so as to promote a new research skill, involving persons with disabilities as participants and produces of the research piece, and no longer as mere "guinea pig".

[1] The amended Law has an element of rights-based and anti-discrimination but it is not yet an anti-discrimination law with strong enforcement mechanism.

[2] Disability mainstreaming and inclusiveness.

[3] Removing the barriers (physical barriers and barriers of social attitudes) often emphasized by advocators of "social model of disability".

[4] Human and civil rights based.

[5] Ref. The definitions and classifications by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (WHO-ICF), WHO, 2001.

[6] Reasonable accommodation means appropriate modifications and adjustments by employers, service provides, educational institutions and other relevant parties, not imposing a disproportionate burden, where needed in particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the full enjoyment and exercise of all human rights and fundamental freedom.

[7] Hurst, R. (2001) "International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health", Disability Tribune, September.

[8] Definition of "social model of disability", at the conference on "Reclaiming the Social Model of Disability", organized by Greater London Action on Disability (GLAD), 2000.

[9] The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (WHO-ICF), WHO, 2001.

[10] Ref. WHO, ILO, UNESCO Joint Paper on CBR 2004, which defined CBR in the holistic and comprehensive manner, including the human rights and poverty reduction components.